| There is an obstacle course involved with brewing a | | | | nature after about a week. If you will be going to |
| great cup of coffee. When you wake up for work at | | | | the trouble of buying fresh, perfectly-roasted coffee |
| 6:00 AM and you have 30-45 minutes to hit the road, | | | | beans, then you should brew coffee to get every |
| how are you going to get a good, hot cup of brew | | | | precious bit of flavor and aroma you are paying for. |
| in your hand when you do? The chances are, you | | | | A great drip maker combines the essential brewing |
| could be brewing in a way that delivers flavor far | | | | elements in a specific way. You need a filter that |
| superior to what you are getting now, and in the | | | | contains a large amount of fresh grounds for each 6 |
| same amount of time, or even less. | | | | ounces of coffee brewing. The water should be |
| To help you decide what brewing method, or | | | | heated to 195-205 degrees F. The water should be |
| methods, will best match your needs, start by asking | | | | allowed to saturate the grounds gently and |
| these questions: | | | | thoroughly. The total brew cycle, from start to finish, |
| 1) What are the occasions do you normally drink | | | | must take from 4 to 6 minutes. If it takes longer |
| coffee, and what is the relative importance of taste | | | | than 8 minutes, the coffee will be over-extracted |
| and convenience? | | | | and bitter. |
| 2) How much money are you willing to spend on | | | | It is almost impossible to brew drip coffee that |
| coffee, a coffee maker, or various brewing | | | | meets the above criteria using your typical home |
| equipment? | | | | electric brewer. This is what leads to the frustration |
| 3)Can this particular brewing equipment produce great | | | | so many coffee lovers come across when they try |
| coffee? | | | | to duplicate good coffee-bar coffee at home. |
| For most coffee lovers, the biggest hurdle to | | | | Brewing manually, where you can control the brewing |
| overcome as you begin to get serious about coffee | | | | process, is still the absolute best way to get a great |
| is the fact that you own an electric drip | | | | cup of coffee. Since almost no coffee maker under |
| coffeemaker, and the vast majority of the electric | | | | $150 can produce great coffee, you will have to |
| drip brewers sacrifice some of the taste for | | | | sacrifice some flavor when using one. Spend some |
| convenience. If good taste is your ultimate goal, you | | | | money on a coffee maker that gets the best |
| may want to think of an investment of time rather | | | | reviews, regardless of price, always use quality |
| than dollars. Grinding fresh coffee beans, and | | | | coffee, and you will come closest to the best cup of |
| measuring coffee precisely, will become second | | | | coffee possible in an automatic coffee maker. |
